


Conflicting Signals

by Kimikochan



Series: Second Chances [3]
Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9802175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimikochan/pseuds/Kimikochan
Summary: Logan's radar is on the fritz.





	

_He gazed out over the water, watching the sky on the horizon gradually lighten as he adjusted his cap. Turning, he smiled at the sight of the woman sleeping in his bed._

_Her hair fanned out across the pillow and lay in golden waves against the black cotton of his shirt. It hung partially open, revealing soft, pale skin, a long, graceful neck and the delicate slope of her collarbone._

_Long lashes fluttered, and she stirred, a content smile on her lips._

_So fucking beautiful._

_He snapped a picture with his phone so he’d always have something to remember the moment._

_She stretched, rubbed her eyes, her smile widening as she caught sight of him. Rising, she crawled to the foot of the bed, murmuring about beating an AWOL rap as she hugged him around the waist._

_“Our story is epic,” he said, and she smiled again._

_“Spanning years?”_

_“Continents.”_

_His vision blurred, and suddenly she was younger. Her hair hung in curls over one shoulder, soft tendrils framing her face while a necklace glittered above the gentle swell of her breasts._

_“Love you, V’ronica,” he murmured, his throat thick._

_He could almost hear her whispering back. “I love you too, Logan.”_

Slowly, reluctantly, Logan woke up, wincing at the dull throbbing in his head. A memory echoed in his foggy brain, but quickly faded away.

**********

Logan sat on his board and scanned the horizon, rocking gently with the current as he searched for the perfect wave.

“Incoming,” Dick murmured as Logan and Chang turned to see a woman in a bright pink bikini paddling towards them. “She’s been asking about you.”

Kalani Moore was a 27 year-old, former pro-surfer from Hawaii, and she was drop-dead gorgeous. Large, slightly slanted brown eyes and wavy, chocolate-colored hair reflected her island ancestry. She had full lips, high cheekbones and a permanently deep tan on a tight, athletic body.

She could’ve easily made a tidy fortune as a model, but she’d parlayed her early success into a small, local chain of surf shops, allowing her to spend mornings doing what she loved best.

Kalani had been surfing the same spot of beach with Logan and Dick for years.

She greeted Logan with a megawatt smile. “Hey, sailor. Nice to be back home on dry land, ya?” Her lilting inflection made every statement sound like a question.

Motioning to the waterproof bandage on his forehead, she added, “But maybe not so safe and sound?”

“Trouble follows him around,” Dick said. “And she scars.”

Kalani threw him a puzzled glance before appraising Logan. “Scars are sexy, ya?”

_Don’t you have enough scars already?_

Logan chuckled absently. “Someone told me women are attracted to men with scars ...”

A slow, seductive smile spread across Kalani’s face. “I think I read that somewhere, too.”

He gaped, startled by the tenor their conversation had taken.

Logan’s radar was on the fritz.

Weeks of conflicting signals cluttered his head, causing interference with his heart, and now Logan’s sensors were failing altogether.

He didn’t need a diagnostic to trace the source of his problem.

It started the night on the beach. Until then, he’d read Veronica’s signals loud and clear. They were just friends, and he was fine with it.

But that night she’d offered her help without accusing him of wrong-doing - a first for them - and it completely threw him.

When she’d asked him why he joined the Navy, years of training compelled him to lie. He opened his mouth to repeat the carefully crafted, highly-sanitized story he usually told people, but signals in his brain got crossed.

Haltingly, the ugly truth spilled out.

“I was hitting the bottle pretty hard. And some other stuff too, bad stuff … Even Dick was worried,” he’d told her, staring out at the dark ocean, unable to meet her gaze. “There’s stuff I barely remember.”

Logan had expected Veronica’s usual disdain, anger, maybe even disgust. Instead, she hit him with Bilbo, and the rest of his meager defenses came crashing down when he saw moisture glistening on her cheeks.

_“I was devastated.”_

He’d touched her cheek, intending only to wipe away her tears, but his body acted on auto-pilot. He leaned in to kiss her, and she pulled away almost imperceptibly. Instantly, Logan’s sensors snapped back online.

He’d been trying to maintain a safe distance ever since, but events conspired to keep him within Veronica’s inexorable pull.

He hadn’t even been able to get out of Thanksgiving. Logan hated the holidays. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than being the awkward interloper at someone else’s family dinner - unless of course it was trying to fit in with Keith Mars and the rest of Veronica’s loyal gang.

He’d half expected Piz to show up for dessert.

Thank God for Chang. He told his squadmate Veronica was an old friend from high school, but mid-way through dinner he’d figured it out.

“Why’d you break up?” Chang asked over breakfast back at the beach house.

“Which time?” Dick snorted.

As a couple, Logan and Veronica were a disaster, but he didn’t need the reminder. “We’re just friends,” he found himself repeating - often.

“Then what’s with you and Kalani?” Chang pressed.

Logan shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Dick muttered, reaching for another bagel. “Just ask her out already.”

Sighing loudly, Logan put down his coffee. “The only thing we have in common is surfing.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Since when does Veronica surf?”

Chang chuckled.

**********

Logan stared at the row of shops, idly watching people passing by.

He’d been sitting in his car, trying to work up the nerve to go inside for the last 15 minutes, and now he could feel a bead of sweat trickle down his back.

_Fuck it. Time to deploy._

Resolute, he grabbed the tickets from the center console and got out, quickly crossing the street.

He detected faint murmurs as he approached.

“No,” Veronica answered Mac without hesitation, her voice firm. “We’re better off as friends.”

Message received. No signal boost required.


End file.
